Well hey there everyone from the incredibly picturesque Lookout Motor Inn high atop Dorrigo Mountain. Our final destination now lies some 60 km away and 700m below us. We can't see Coffs yet but we did catch a glimpse of the ocean as we rode in to the motel earlier this arvo. I tell you it's such a great feeling to know that our ride is basically done. Much of tomorrow is straight down a mountain. And if you've been following my blogs and tweets at all you'll have figured by now how much I do love those descents. Clocked 80kph again today at one point. Now it might sound really dangerous but I have found that there's not a lot of difference between descending at 50 or 80. You've just got to concentrate on the road really hard and keep scanning way out in front for bumps and potholes. You can see the big ones coming and generally have time to steer around them. The smaller ones, well they're not always as visible but you just bunny hop over the top them and keep on riding. Plus I've found that the faster you go the more stable the bike becomes. It's a centrifugal force thing I guess
We traversed 131km today in pretty good time today. Leaving at 7.30 the majority of us rolled into Dorrigo at about 4pm. Considering that we had some fairly lengthy breaks that was pretty good time. We were certainly aided by the up and down terrain. There was still a couple of fairly large hills on the way there but nothing like what we had experienced on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first 70 km was really enjoyable for me, despite being predominantly uphill. I spent some time at the back of the pack riding with Colin and ably supported by Mark and an injured Rob in the van. Riding along at that pace is really quite relaxing and very enjoyable. I realised that it's probably how Antoni feels riding with the rest of us all the time. JERK! ;) I was able to respond to several emails, listen to some phone messages, make a few work phone calls, record some great footage and post to Twitter all without getting off the bike. Who says men can't multitask?
All that and we still met the boys enjoying a drinks break at about the 35km mark running only just on 20 minutes behind the pack. We rode on as Colin was still feeling pretty good so for about 2 km we were out in front. Then the more serious climbing began. Colin allowed me to abandon him for greener pastures up the top of the hill so up I went. I met Arne just a few km from our scheduled lunch break and Ebor.
Let me tell you, the 'Fusspots' Cafe make sensational burgers and most of the boys devoured one for lunch.
Then we were off again. Scotty agreed to ride with Colin for the last 50 km and I set of with boys confident that I'd have a chance of keeping up with them as the overall elevation was down the hill. I was going gung ho for 15 km trying to catch Pete and Sebastian. What I gained on the descent I lost of the hills. But once I finally got onto their tail I didnt let go and we rode together for another 15km. When I finally caught them I was really proud of myself, at least for a few seconds until they told me that hadn't really been riding fast anyway. Our final stop for the afternoon was at a picturesque lookout just before our descent into Dorrigo and all up I sssssssssssssssssssss...
(Well it's now Saturday night a full 24 hours after those words above. That row of s's is where I fell finally nodded of completely trying to write the blog last night. I'd been fighting off the sleep for the better part of that last paragraph but in the end it was to no avail. Apologies for the delay in posting but I simply couldn't keep myself awake any longer last night. Really think it must have been the wine because despite the physical exhaustion of week I'd been fine with the blog up until that point. I'll continue with the remainder of Day 6 (Friday) now and will write the Day 7 blog in the car on the way home tomorrow. That way I can incorporate the details of our visit to C3 Church Coffs Harbour in the morning as well. And besides I'm getting tired again and you don't really want to see a long line of s's again.)
Now where was I? Oh yeah the lookout before Dorrigo. We spent close to an hour chatting, eating fruit and relaxing with the great view behind us. The we made yet another invigorating descent into Dorrigo only to find that we still faced a 3km climb back out of town on the other side to reach our accommodation for the night.
Really nice place that Lookout Inn. I must say that my good friend Ian Henderson chose some very nice places for our accommodation this year when he and Charles Denis did their scouting trip earlier in the year. Almost makes up for sending us up Thunderbolt. Almost. ;)
We convened for an early (5.30pm) dinner at the motel's restaurant and we ate well. I had a sensational lamb shank. Think the other dish was pot pie of something like that and the boys seemed to enjoy it. I devoured half a basket of garlic bread, assuming it was included, only to find that Sebastian had ordered it for himself. Oh well buddy, makes up for you assuming that I shaved my bum for the ride. ;) I know I've been saying it all week, and you guys are probably sick of hearing my soppy romantic pinings for Jill in such a public forum but I really am missing her and the kids. I decided that I'm definitely gonna bring Jill up this way and may even have a few nights at the Lookout Motor Inn. It's one of those places I was describing in an earlier post. One of those places you take your wife for a romantic few days away and don't even leave the room. ;) And before you men start giving me a hard time about that you should probably try it. Might be the best thing you could do for your marriage. If it down ask your wife if she'd like a few days away in a country B&B for some romance and rest. I can guarantee most of them will say yes, and it will be worth your while if you do.
View from my Balcony...
Anyway I'm starting to get drowsy again. We've only been back from dinner about half an hour and I'm starting to fade so I'll upload the photos and get to bed.
Have a great Sunday and I'll chat to you from the road home sometime tomorrow arvo with the final post for this year's Men on a Mission ride.
Rohan.
Oops almost forgot the road kill.
- One Kangaroo (Right at he start of the day. We were riding pretty fast at the time and I wouldn't have been able to stop easily.
- One Fly (Eaten by Yours Truly)
- One Magpie (Also not practical to stop at the time)
- One snail. (I needed a roadkill shot and this guy just happened to crawl underneath my front wheel as I swerved to get out of the way. I did swerve my front wheel but he just rapidly crawled right into the way of the incoming tyre.)
OH YEAH, DON'T FORGET TO SPONSOR OUR RIDE. WE'RE RAISING MUCH NEEDED FUNDS FOR OCF FOR RESEARCH INTO KID'S CANCER. SPONSORSHIP IS FULLY TAX DEDUCTIBLE AND REALLY SIMPLE. IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE AND YOU'LL BE ISSUED WITH A TAX RECEIPT ON THE SPOT.
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